By Tracy Louthain In January, Habitat for Humanity of Walton County held its 60th home dedication for a very special mom of four. Unlike other home dedications, this dedication was held in partnership with Warrick Dunn Charities, and included a very special surprise by former FSU running back and NFL star Warrick Dunn. A dedicated single mom of four, Shakisha McDonald, became a first-time homeowner thanks to Walton County Habitat for Humanity, and thanks to Warrick Dunn Charities (WDC) she received a life-changing surprise. While the new home was earned and financed through Habitat for Humanity, Aaron’s provided $10,000 worth of home furnishings, turning an empty shell into a move-in ready dream home. Additionally, WDC was able to provide a $5,000 down-payment assistance check and ensure the home was fully stocked, thanks to additional assistance from Stronghold SOF Solutions, and Ryan Jumonville and Raven’s Ranch. This event marked the 210th home celebration nationwide by Warrick Dunn Charities (WDC), the former NFL star’s non-profit organization that identifies single parents across the country and helps them achieve their goal of first-time homeownership as part of its “Homes for the Holidays” program. “We are extremely grateful to partner with Warrick Dunn Charities for a second time,” said Habitat for Humanity Walton County Executive Director Teresa Jones. “Shakisha is extremely deserving of this incredible gift. Our houses would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, volunteers and board members. Through our partnership with WDC, this house became a true home... Read More

  By Anna Fisher, Associate Artistic Director, ECTC Raise your hand if you’ve ever come upon an open grassy field and spread your arms out while twirling and singing, “The hills are alive, with the sound of music?” No one? Just me? Okay even if you ignored that impulse, I know you wanted to breathe in the fresh spring air and twirl with abandon as you embodied one of your favorite moments from “Sound of Music.” We all have our favorite memories from this beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein classic stage play and movie. Everyone learned to sing the notes along to “doe, a deer, a female deer” and find our dreams when we “climb every mountain.” I am so excited to bring this beautiful, based-on-true-events story to life this spring at Emerald Coast Theatre Company. We have a cast of extremely talented adult and child actors who are already working hard in rehearsals to bring this gorgeous musical to our stage. One of the greatest challenges of casting is finding the right actress to play Maria. She has to not only be able to sing like an angel, but to also be angelic in her demeanor. We have to believe that she would come to love a group of children as her own and embrace a life that she did not plan for herself. If you have met Anna Joy Powell, you know that she is the perfect actress to tell this story of love, family and overcoming. She is... Read More

  Alaqua Animal Refuge has formally opened its new, one-of-a-kind facility, located at 155 Dugas Way, and invites the community to celebrate the momentous occasion with a month-long celebration of events titled “Celebrate! Alaqua” beginning March 4. As the Southeast’s premier 501(c)3 refuge and sanctuary, Alaqua believes that every abused, neglected, and homeless animal deserves a second chance. Originally located on 10 acres in Freeport, the new 100-acre facility will allow Alaqua to continue to do the important work of animal rescue and rehabilitation, as well as be an educational and training center for animal welfare advocates as a place that will inspire, empower and educate others to make change in society and recreate the model worldwide. “We are so happy to finally be in our permanent home,” said Alaqua Founder Laurie Hood. “We have welcomed the animals to their new sanctuary and now we want to welcome our community to come see what their love, fundraising, and support throughout the years has built. After eight years of creating this space, we invite everyone to come ‘Celebrate Alaqua’ and honor this momentous move for our organization.” During the month of March, Alaqua will host a featured event every Saturday, kicking off with the highly anticipated Seventh Annual 100 Point and Cult Wine Dinner on Saturday, March 4. The sold-out, exclusive evening will offer guests a one-of-a-kind experience as they will be the first to dine in Alaqua’s permanent home. Guests will also enjoy a private concert with musical guest performances... Read More

  Review by Jack Smith As Gloria Steinem once quipped, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” This book has your back and offers an all-new sustainable approach to weight loss while exposing the lies of the past three decades. This book is fun, easy to read, and also very liberating. This is the true story of how the author lost weight and kept it off. Heather Strickland lives in Rosemary Beach. She woke up at thirty-five and found herself grossly overweight. She tried most of the trendy diets, but totally failed. Not one to give up without a fight, a diet rebel was born. Heather took matters into her own hands, did uncountable hours of research, and finally resorted to common sense and self-testing. Using her newly developed plan she lost 140 lbs., and to this day has kept it off (and it’s been over six years). When writing this book, she thought of all of the boring-ass diet books and decided to take a lighter path. Have you ever tried to read a diet book? They just straight-up stink (sorry, not sorry). America has an obesity epidemic on its hands and according to Heather, it got there by following the Standard American Diet. Today over 40% of adults are obese, as are 20% of children. “Where is the outrage?” In this book, Heather calls BS on many of these weight loss lies of the past forty years. Will this diet be easy?... Read More

  By Dr. Richard Chern, MD Today I’d like to talk about Levothyroxine or Synthroid. This is likely the most commonly prescribed thyroid medication in the world but this is slowly changing. This article may be a bit difficult to follow so don’t feel bad if you have to read it several times before it all clicks. I usually spend about an hour educating patients about the thyroid with white board drawings too so 500 words may not be enough to get the full picture. Thyroxine (T3) is the hormone that drives every metabolic process in our body, so of course, it’s extremely important. It turns all the factories in the body on, which then burns more fuel, which means thicker hair, less brain fog, not feeling cold all the time, and maintaining proper weight. We can get T3 two different ways. We can make it in the thyroid or we can convert T4 into T3. The thyroid is told when to make T3 and T4 by the brain. The brain secretes Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) which tells the thyroid to make T3 and T4. To make sure we don’t make too much T4 tells the brain to stop making TSH. This is where Levothyroxine can be a problem. As we get older the body slowly loses its ability to convert T4 into T3. That means the only way we can get T3 is from the T3 produced by the thyroid and not T4 being converted into T3. This is... Read More

  Laughing Penguin Publicity, along with L’il House Songwriting Workshops of Nashville, is hosting a truly unique benefit event for The Joe Center for the Arts on Friday March 3. A limited number of invited fine artists will create original works of art onsite, inspired by the music of 3 award-winning and Grammy-nominated Nashville singer/songwriters this live concert event. Attendees will watch the creation of art while listening to the music of our special guest songwriters for The Synergy Between Art & Music. Donna Ulisse, Jerry Salley and Rick Stanley will be in town to present the inaugural Words on the Water Songwriting Workshop and while here will perform at this special event. [Individual songwriter pics available by request.] At the end of the evening, a silent auction will allow attendees to own the pieces created before their eyes. NOTE: All winning bids of $250 or less will benefit The Joe at 100%. All winning bids of $251 or more will be split between the fine artist, The Joe and our musical presenters at 20% each. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public. In addition to the silent auction, donations to The Joe are welcome and appreciated. Friday, March 3, 7-9:30p.m.The Joe Center for the Arts201 Reid Avenue, Port St. Joe The post The Synergy Between Art & Music in Port St. Joe March 3 appeared first on PCB Life | Panama City Beach News, Events and Community Information.   Read More

  Florida vehicle owners have a host of options when it comes to license plates. More than 100 specialty plates are offered in Florida, with each plate supporting a specific organization and cause. From sports teams to universities, special interests and environmental causes, there’s a specialty plate sure to appeal to just about everyone. The Cost of a Specialty Plate An annual fee is charged for each specialty license plate, in addition to the regular registration renewal fee, a $28 new metal plate issuance fee and a $5 processing fee. The annual fees collected from the sale of the specialty plates go directly to the organization the plate supports, with most annual fees being $25 or less. Over the years, the sale of specialty plates has raised millions of dollars for the sponsoring organizations. Drivers interested in purchasing a specialty plate can do so at any time at the Tax Collector’s Office, though most choose to do so during their initial vehicle registration or at the time of annual registration renewal to minimize the expense. Specialty plates can also be viewed and purchased online for those with a plate expiring in 12 months or less. The costs noted in the online portal include all fees noted above. In addition to purchasing your own specialty plate, The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles also offers a specialty license plate gift certificate program. The program allows anyone to purchase a specialty license plate as a gift for a Florida motor... Read More

  By Ed Offley Laissez les bons temps rouler!Bonifay residents Courtney Collins and William Bush stood by the crowd barriers along with 40,000 party-goers thronging the streets of Pier Park as Panama City Beach threw one of the earliest — and largest — celebrations of Mardi Gras in the nation. “This is my third Mardi Gras here,” Collins said. “We love it — get to hang out, dress up and look like fools — legally!” Led by the Krewe of Dominique Youx, about 40 massive (truck-towed) pirate floats paraded through Pier Park under a bright Saturday sun, the culmination of the festival’s two days of celebration. The highlight was the procession of costumed and masked pirates from Dominique Youx, the Krewe of St. Andrews, and other pirate groups from elsewhere in the Panhandle flinging a downpour of colorful bead necklaces to the revelers. For Scott and Lauren Dorman, the drive up from Stuart, Florida to Panama City Beach — their second Mardi Gras here — was well worth it. Asked if they had considered celebrating in New Orleans rather than at Pier Park, Lauren laughed. “New Orleans is too crazy,” she said. “This is just crazy enough!” Although the formal date for “Fat Tuesday” doesn’t fall until February 21st this year, the PCB Mardi Gras & Music Festival kicked off on Friday, February 3 with the main parade on Saturday afternoon, February 4. Tourists and Bay County residents alike thronged Pier Park in their masks and clothing of gold, green... Read More